I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1115 Franco-Russian Alliance?

A group of high-ranking Russian officials stared wide-eyed, completely unable to follow the Tsar's train of thought.

Paul I continued, "As long as we return the land east of Tabriz to the Persians, they will be so grateful that they will sign a truce with us."

Count Osterman grew anxious: "Your Majesty, but this will not benefit us at all..."

King Paul I raised his hand to interrupt him: "Of course there is. Compared to worthless Persia, India is the place truly brimming with wealth!"

Osterman and others felt that their brains were no longer enough.

Arakshiev asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, do you mean to form an alliance with Persia and then attack India from the west?"

"That's right! The Persians must have had their eyes on the rich land of India for a long time."

Arakshiev hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, it is difficult for the Persians to provide us with substantial support given their strength."

"India is extremely far from our country, and with our strength alone, we would most likely be caught in a bitter battle."

"Moreover, once we begin an attack on India, it will provoke a fierce retaliation from Britain..."

Paul said confidently, "You have astutely identified the crux of the problem."

"Therefore, we need another powerful ally, and that is France."

"The French royal family and I are related by marriage, and the French are also facing enormous pressure from Britain. They would be very happy to send an expeditionary force to weaken the British by partitioning India."

"By then, our massive army, coupled with the superior weaponry of France and the continuous supply of logistical materials from Persia to India, will be unstoppable by either the British or the Indian princely states!"

Yes, Catherine II consistently pursued a policy of seeking a balance between Britain and France, and always leaned slightly towards Britain, given Russia's significant trade dependence on Britain.

Paul, however, has always believed that this balance of not offending anyone is a sign of cowardice.

Even though Britain is the strongest country in Europe, he is not afraid in the slightest.

Indeed, Britain became powerful precisely because it possessed the rich lands of India. If Russia had acquired it, it would have been even stronger than Britain.

“But…but…” Arakshiev opened his mouth, only to find that the Tsar’s ambitious plan was not without the possibility of success.

Count Bezberodico frowned and said, “Your Majesty, if we concentrate all our military forces in the east, it will leave our forces in Europe vulnerable. The Ottomans might even take the opportunity to start a war.”

Paul I appeared even more pleased with himself: "This is the second strategy I want to discuss."

"Since we are going to form a military alliance with France, then our cooperation will not be limited to the Far East."

"My other goal is the Mediterranean Sea."

"As you know, I am the protector of Malta, which means that our country has a uniquely advantageous base in the Mediterranean."

"Our Black Sea Fleet will sail south into the Mediterranean, with Malta as its home port—well, then they'll be renamed the 'Mediterranean Fleet'—and then, in coordination with the French fleet, land in Egypt from the southwest."

"At the same time, our Iasi garrison will launch a pincer attack from the north, and the Ottomans will soon be defeated."

"By then, the Black Sea will become our inland sea, including the northern coast of Anatolia!"
"Don't you think this is a great plan?"

“This is a strategy that only a great emperor like Peter the Great could conceive!” Araksheev first flattered, then continued, “However, Your Majesty, Britain, Prussia, Austria, and other countries will certainly not stand idly by and watch us defeat the Ottomans. And our country does not have enough troops to defend the western front.”

Paul I smiled and said, "As long as we can gain the trust of the Poles, there is no danger on the western front."

"The Russian-Americans on the west bank of the Dnieper will help us negotiate with the Polish parliament. We'll offer them some benefits, but the Poles certainly don't want to be drawn into another war. You should know that the situation in Poland isn't very good."

Russian high-ranking officials have already begun to consider what benefits they can offer to keep the Poles at bay. After all, Poland's current "bad situation" is entirely due to the war their country has waged against them.

After thinking for a long time, the group realized that only by ceding the land on the east bank of the Dnieper River could they get the Poles to accept Russia's demands.

However, handing over the east bank of the Dnieper River to Poland would definitely provoke strong opposition within Russia.

Paul I became more and more excited as he spoke, for these were all brilliant plans he had conceived for many years, and now they could finally be put into practice.

"Once they control the Ottoman territories in the Balkans, the Franco-Russian allied forces can march north from there to attack Austria."

"Look, this is also an adversary that France has always wanted to deal with, and they certainly won't refuse."

"Then France would govern Western Europe, and we would control Central and Eastern Europe. What a beautiful map that would be!"

"Next will be the great fusion of Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, universal..."

He suddenly stopped talking, since the matter of establishing a universal church could not be discussed at this time.

He coughed lightly, looked up at the sky, and instructed, "We'll continue discussing the details tomorrow. Yes, it's fine to come here again; I enjoy discussing political affairs amidst the sounds of the soldiers training!"

……

Southern suburbs of Paris.

On a high platform on the west side of the training ground of the Paris Military Academy, Joseph tilted his binoculars up at a 30-degree angle and searched for a long time before finally spotting the light blue hot air balloon in the sky.

He took out his pocket watch again and glanced at it. Only 57 minutes had passed since the hot air balloon arrived at the training ground. He couldn't help but nod slightly.

After more than a year of training, France's "high-altitude reconnaissance battalion," also known as the hot air balloon unit, has finally reached a level where it can be used in actual combat.

Thanks to the use of new hot air balloon launchers, their launch speed is more than twice as fast as Napoleon's army in history, and their impact on the war will be far greater than that of that time.

Soon, the drums of the attacking "Red" side sounded, and more than 400 skirmishers, covering an infantry line of nearly 1,000 soldiers, fiercely rushed towards the "Blue" side's defense line.

The Blue team, with fewer than 500 soldiers, was immediately routed.

Less than half an hour later, the Blue Team's officers issued the order to retreat.

The red team easily captured the target village.

Just then, the hot air balloon in the sky sent a series of flag signals to the ground.

Just two minutes later, the Blue Force artillery, which had been lying in ambush behind the hills to the south, suddenly launched a fierce bombardment on the village.

Because the shells were aimed in advance, they were extremely accurate. After more than a dozen salvos, the Red Team suffered more than 200 casualties.

The Red Army officers, unwilling to continue suffering losses, left two companies of soldiers to defend separately, while the rest quickly withdrew from the artillery's range.

But the hot air balloon could see all of this clearly.

As soon as the Red team's soldiers began to retreat, the Blue team immediately launched a fierce counterattack.

(End of this chapter)